Grimme has made several upgrades to its harvester fleet, making them more efficient in terms of output and running costs, without compromising quality. These upgrades will be specific to 2-row trailed and self-propelled machines and will be available to order from the 2015 lifting season.
Upgrades include a revolutionary pneumatic clod and stone separator called AirSep and an active swaying stability control for improved digging performance called ComfortDrive.
AirSep efficiently separates stones, wet clods and haulm from potatoes by airflow. It has been successfully tested on the SV260 and the SE260 Off-set trailed harvesters.
ComfortDrive has been designed predominantly to reduce sway in off-set trailed and self-propelled harvesters fitted with large wheels. Swaying is a physical condition that can reduce digging output and can be uncomfortable for the pickers. Reducing sway can increase digging speed by up to 30 %. ComfortDrive is available as an option on the SV 260 2-row bunker harvester as well as the VARITRON 200 and 270 2-row self-propelled harvesters.
Further improvements specifically for 4-row harvesters include a new crop flow process that minimises damage and requires less maintenance, and on trailed harvesters VarioDrive, which gives the operator precision control of the mechanical first web.
The new crop flow process helps minimise blockages by using two active running rubber rollers connected to the rear axle that gently separates the crop as it moves through the harvester. The crop is distributed over the full width rear of the axle onto the following separators.
VarioDrive allows the mechanical and hydraulically driven main webs to be infinitely adjusted to suit all digging conditions and can also be reversed at the push of a button to remove blockages. It consists of an epicyclical gearbox with integrated hydraulic motor and is more or less the same size as the conventional mechanical drive. Compared to the hydraulic systems VarioDrive has a 20% higher efficiency, which reduces the fuel consumption by 1l/hr.
